G7 prepares 'Global Infrastructure Plan' to defy China's Belt and Road project

The grand infrastructure plan would directly conflict with President Xi Jinping's multi-trillion-dollar Belt and Road initiative.

According to an international news agency, a senior official in US President Joe Biden's administration said "the United States will urge other G7 leaders to take strong action against forced labour in China."

"It's not just about confronting China, but so far we haven't come up with an alternative that reflects our values, quality and business style," he said.

China's multi-billion-dollar Belt and Road project launched by President Xi Jinping in 2013, includes development and investment initiatives that will connect China from Asia to Europe and beyond.

More than 100 countries have signed an agreement with China for the project, which includes plans to build railways, ports, highways and other infrastructure.

According to statistics, more than 2,600 projects worth $3.7 trillion had linked the program by the middle of last year, although the Chinese foreign minister had said that 20 per cent of the projects had been severely affected by the COVID epidemic.

US President Joe Biden said in March that he had suggested to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is hosting the G7 summit, that democracies should come up with their plans.

The G7 and its allies will use the initiative to mobilise private sector capital in areas such as climate, health and health security, digital technology, and gender equity and equality, the White House said.

It was not immediately clear how the plan would exactly work or how much capital it would ultimately allocate.

The US official said that "so far the West has failed to offer a positive alternative to the Chinese government's lack of transparency, environmental and labour standards and repressive practices, which has put many countries in a difficult position."

"Tomorrow we are going to announce a global infrastructure program with G7 Partners, which will not be the only alternative to the Belt and Road," he said.

During the talks, Biden will urge other leaders to make it clear that forced labour is a reprehensible example of human dignity and China's unfair economic competition, and that they are serious about protecting human rights.

 "We are putting more emphasis on areas like Xinjiang where forced labour is being used and here we have to express our values ​​as G7," the official said in a statement issued at the end of the summit.

The G7 is shorthand for Group of Seven, an organization of leaders from some of the world's largest economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the US.

Russia was indefinitely suspended from the group—which was at the time known as the G8—in 2014 after the majority of member countries allied against its annexation of Crimea. It was the first violation of a European country's borders since World War II.

Members of the G7 meet each year for a summit to discuss pressing issues on the global stage and coordinate policy.